There was general amusement in Mullingar District Court as a Mullingar man told the judge it was no one’s fault but his own that he had been phoning the Gardaí while drunk.
John Gaffney of Knockmant told the court that he had “made a complete fool of myself”, when he committed a public order offence at Newdown in April.
“I was off drink for three weeks or a month,” he said. “Next thing I was on the drink. I was a complete fool, ringing the Gardaí unnecessarily. It was not the Gardaí’s fault, it was no one else’s fault.”
“I don’t blame the Gardaí,” he said. “It was me rang them.”
He admitted to spending €50 of his €185 social welfare payment on drink.
When the judge asked how he’d manage if his welfare was cut to only €50, he replied that “You couldn’t live well on €50 a week”.
“It’s only going to the licensed trade anyway,” said the judge.
“You have to have something,” replied Mr Gaffney.
When asked if he would stop calling Gardaí he answered that he would. “The phone fell on the ground and got broke,” he said to the amusement of those assembled in the courthouse.
Mr Gaffney said he was seeing a counsellor.
The judge reminded Mr Gaffney that he was a danger to himself and that if something happened to him on the road one night, the public would be up in arms asking “Why didn’t someone do something for poor John Gaffney?”
He added that he didn’t know if prison was the place for the 47-year-old and said that if he applied a two month sentence which is already hanging over Mr Gaffney he could be released as soon as “tomorrow evening”.
The judge good-naturedly pointed out that there is sometimes “an affinity between the judge and people like you,” because “some people are nature's gentlemen” until they took up with the demon drink and “everything stood on its head and went wrong”.
However, he then reminded Mr Gaffney that if someone knocked him down on the road because of his drunkenness, they would face a court hearing and he warned him that the nights are getting shorter.
“I have a reflector,” Mr Gaffney replied.
“You mean you have a knock-me-down-jacket,” said the judge, commenting ironically on how he’d heard the item described.
Mr Gaffney agreed. “The garda met me one evening and told me to get one,” he said.
